‘I thought I was dead for sure'

IN THE split second he had to think before his car careened off a bridge at more than 50kmh, Lyndon Mugliett thought his time was up.

"I thought I was dead for sure," he said, just one day after the spectacular accident. The Walkerston man walked away from the crash with only minor injuries.

About 7pm, the 29-year-old fitter was driving on the Saraji-Dysart Road, about 10km north of Dysart, when he took evasive action to avoid a possible four-vehicle collision on a bridge. His four-wheel-drive nosedived four metres off the bridge, eventually coming to rest on its roof.

"It all happened pretty slowly; the car in front of me managed to dodge a truck, but I didn't. I hit the skids and hit a car on the other side of the road, then went straight off the bridge.

"I was like, 'oh no here we go'." One other vehicle rolled several times and came to rest in trees. That driver also suffered minor injuries but was able to free himself from the vehicle.

"I was pretty freaked out; it was pitch black. I could feel water on the top of my head and smell fuel. I knew I just had to pull myself together and get out of there," Mr Mugliett said.

"It was so quiet and all I could see was the reflection of my tail lights in the water."

When he got his bearings, he managed to undo his seatbelt and kick out the side window of his car to scramble to safety.

"I got up that river bank as quick as I could and ran straight into a fence," he laughed.

He said his ute and his training in driver safety saved his life.

"I am very lucky; the roll-over protection system in my ute saved me for sure. If I was in a normal car, I think I would have been killed," he said.

"I knew what to do after the crash because of defensive driving training."